1. Field of the Invention
A sprouting bean refinement apparatus is provided such that sprouting beans remaining after such harvest are put on the vibration frame, and refuse, bean shells, rootlets and the like deposited on the sprouting beans are separated therefrom to refine the sprouting beans, and which works reliably and continuously because the refuse, shells, rootlets and the like deposited onto the perforated screen of the vibration frame are removed from the surface of the perforated screen by the cleaning mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sprouting beans obtained by harvesting the beans in the state that their stalks have grown up to given lengths are utilized as one kind of edible vegetable.
In the harvested sprouting beans, unnecessary materials such as shells and refuse of raw beans and rootlets are contained in an amount so high as to constitute about 10% by weight. It is desired to remove these unnecessary materials from the harvested sprouting beans.
In order to remove these unnecessary materials from harvested sprouting beans, there has hitherto been applied a method comprising dipping the sprouting beans into a water tank with a great deal of water stored therein to remove bean shells and refuse and the like through sedimentation.
According to such a conventional method, however, it is necessary to use an extremely large amount of water and further to provide a wide space for placing a water tank of large size in a factory. Furthermore, a serious drawback of the conventional method is that the sprouting beans subjected to washing with water are strikingly deteriorated in their freshness-keeping property.